


Falling In A Forest

by Unknown_diva



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Character Death, Civil War Team Iron Man, Depression, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Not A Fix-It, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Panic Attacks, Poor Tony, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28079286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown_diva/pseuds/Unknown_diva
Summary: Rhodey's dead. Everyone has left him. He's all alone. How is Tony meant to save the team, the Accords, and the world when he can't even save himself?
Relationships: Nick Fury & Tony Stark
Comments: 69
Kudos: 164





	1. Did I even make a sound?

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the first chapter of my new story! This will have an insane amount of angst and emotional hurt so strap in folks! I am extremely excited to write this and hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> I am going to give this whole story a general Trigger Warning because there is a lot of mental health issues in it.

Tony thought his lowest point was when he listened to his best friend’s screams through the comm as he fell from the sky. Racing to reach the twirling metal suit as it fell faster and faster, looking almost like a falling star.

He wondered if any kid made a wish on his dying friend. 

Seconds later, he believed his lowest point was the three minutes and 29 seconds he spent cradling Rhodey as the man’s chest caved in and he was slowly choked by his own blood. His cowardice prevented him from saying anything, he just stared in shock as he held his limp friend. 

It took four EMTs to pull him away from Rhodey’s corpse. 

He then thought his lowest point was sitting in the hospital waiting room on the phone with Mama Rhodes. Or ‘Ma’am’ as she ordered Tony to call her now. He sat silently with the shaking phone to his ear, forcing himself to endure Rhodey’s grief-filled mother’s screams and accusations on how he killed his best friend, his brother. 

About five hours ago, he would have answered the phone with a ‘hey mom’, but now she wanted nothing to do with him. He lost two members of his family today. 

When he finally hangs up from Mama Rh- Mrs. Rhodes, he notices two missed calls and two voicemails from May Parker and Happy. He decides to listen to Happy’s first since it seemed to have been from yesterday morning. 

He wished he hadn’t. 

Happy’s monotone voice filled his ear, explaining his apparently  _ not _ new love for Pepper and a formal request for Tony to approve him asking her out. Tony sighed and pressed his palms into his eyes, not having the capacity to process anything of that short right now.

But when he listened to May’s voicemail from today, he realized Happy’s crush on his girl was the least of his troubles. 

May’s voicemail was not unsimilar to Mrs. Rhodes’ call- yelling and accusations. Peter had come home and May took one look at his injuries and accused Tony of hurting her nephew, or at least letting him get hurt, during the ‘internship’. She screamed how irresponsible and how horrible a person he was. Tony could hear Peter’s protests in the background as May shouted how the kid would never be allowed in his presence ever again. 

He didn’t know it was possible to lose so many people in one day. 

That night, he sat on the roof of the compound and observed the bustling streets of the city below. The taxis that honked nonstop, the fluorescent glow of the store signs, the stench of sewer and piss trying to squeeze through the smell of the multitude of pizzarias. From so high up the colors seemed to blur together beautifully and he didn’t know if it was the pretty sight or the three empty liquor bottles next to him that were whispering in his ear to jump. 

He stood up, swaying slightly, and let the wind pull its fingers through his sweaty curls and scratch at the cuts on his body from the fight earlier. He didn’t know if it was the thick air or his chest injury that was making it hard to breathe, but something in him enjoyed the tickling danger. 

He walked along the edge of the roof, his feet flirting with the ledge, and he let fate take over. His eyes closed, his breaths evened, and his mind fogged- he let the wind guide him to the other side of the roof. 

Just as he was reaching the corner of the ledge, his eyes shot open as his foot slipped a bit too far over. Luckily, his high alcohol tolerance left him with enough coordination to throw his body to the left, sending his figure crashing to the roof just seconds before he would have fallen to his death. 

He lay panting and giggling hysterically while curled up on the cold concrete. The wind seemed to whistle along with him and his limbs shook from the adrenaline. It wasn’t long before his giggling stopped as a realization broke through his mental fog. 

He would have died twenty seconds ago. 

And no one would have noticed. 

How long before someone would come looking for him? Everyone was either angry at him, or dead. 

Would Pepper come to pack up her stray belongings and see his corpse sprawled on the helipad a hundred feet below? Would Ross come to ask him to sign something and see his brains splattered across the windows? Would Peter disobey his aunt to come get upgrades on his Spiderman suit and see his rotting body, decaying because it had been weeks before someone checked up on him? 

But the bigger question- would they even care?

Pepper would probably cry from the shock of it but go running into Happy’s arms and forget he ever existed. Ross would probably be overjoyed that he didn’t have Tony Stark to get in the way of his plans anymore. And Peter had May, he didn’t need another parental figure in his life, considering how bad Tony was at it anyway. 

The one person that would have cared is gone. Because of Tony. His best friend is gone and he killed him. For that, Tony deserved to fall off the edge of the compound, have his brain splattered everywhere, and his body decaying for weeks. 

Tony didn’t even realize that he was in the midst of a panic attack until his chest started burning from lack of air. The dark edges in his vision blended with the night sky and his lightheadedness was just the same as his alcohol haze. He tried the breathing exercises Rhodey had taught him so long ago, but thinking of his late best friend made his chest hurt even more. It wasn’t long until he let the darkness crawl over his vision slowly and he passed out. 

When he woke up in the morning, it was to a petite hand slapping him in the face. 

Immediately all the pains in his body ignited at once and he sluggishly blinked his eyes open. But when he finally recognized the person he closed his eyes again and turned over. 

“Get up Stark,” Natasha huffed. “Right now is not the time for your games.”

Tony felt all the aggression he experienced yesterday return hotly. “Oh yeah, you would know all about that because everything is a game for you. You let Steve escape-”

Natasha rolled her eyes at Tony’s anger. “I had to.”

“Bullshit,” Tony scoffed. 

“You’re so childish,” Natasha said, cuffing him on the ear. 

Tony squawked and pulled himself up painfully. “I’m not,” he muttered. He immediately started swaying when he stood. 

“Yes you are. I did some research on ‘Spider-Man’ and that kid can’t be older than 17. So be upset at me all you want but i’m not the one that endangered the life of a  _ child _ ,” Natasha scoffed. 

Tony tried to glare but the overwhelming sense of guilt had his face slowly turning into a frown. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t mean for the kid to get hurt. It wasn’t supposed to be a  _ fight _ at all. But he couldn’t respond. Natasha was right. May was right. He almost got a child  _ killed _ . If Peter had been just a little bit slower, that huge man would have crushed him. And it would have been all Tony’s fault. 

Natasha frowned as a multitude of emotions flashed on Tony’s face, finally settling on guilt. For once, she decided to take pity on him and ended the argument. She grabbed him by the elbow and started walking inside. 

“Where are we going?” He muttered, stumbling slightly. 

Natasha had noticed several cuts on his person and he held one of his arms awkwardly. “To get you checked out,” he answered. 

Tony sighed but continued letting himself be dragged towards indoors. He took one last look at the city below and sighed as he was forced back to reality. 

Tony sat on the exam table hours later, waiting for the Shield doctor to bring him his prescription. He had had several cuts bandaged and given a sling for his sprained wrist. The doctor had even given him ice for his black eye which was quickly purpling. He was quietly swinging his feet thinking of yesterday’s events when Natasha walked back in the room. 

She was quiet for several seconds as she observed his injuries. “How’s Rhodey?” She asked finally. She had left after letting Steve and Bucky escape but not without seeing Rhodey fall from the sky. She had no idea what happened after but assumed Tony had caught him. 

  
Tony fought the ice hot grief that choked him suddenly. “He’s fine.”

Natasha sighed, “Tony-”

“He’s. Fine. Don’t worry about it,” Tony said through gritted teeth. It’s not like she could do anything. It’s not like she would care. She didn’t need to know he had killed another innocent person. 

Natasha sighed, able to understand the conversation was over. “Steve’s not going to stop,” she said into the tense silence.

Tony looked up slowly, a hurt expression on his face. “You let them go, Nat,” he said in a small voice. The betrayal finally caught up with him and it was choking him from the inside out. 

She shook her head, looking out the window behind him. “We played this wrong.”

Tony frowned, “We? Boy, it must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? It sticks in the DNA,” he said hotly. He didn’t know what emotion to feel towards her anymore. 

Natasha’s eyes moved quickly over to his in anger. “Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one goddamn second?”

Tony was quiet as he broke their gazes. He stared at his feet for several minutes, trying to choke down Natasha’s words and not let her see how much they affected him. “T’Challa told Ross what you did so they’re coming for you,” he warned. He didn’t mean for it to sound as dark as it did. He genuinely was concerned for her. 

“I’m not the one who needs to watch their back,” she snarled before stomping out of the room. Tony watched her go and couldn’t help but wonder if he lost another person in less than two days. 

Just as Natasha walked out, Tony’s watch beeped. It was a photo from the Berlin police. 

  
  



	2. Waving through a window

The next few hours are a blur. He remembers going to visit the Avengers at the Raft. He remembers Ross’s threat, “You better be grateful you’re not in one of these cells too.” He had to force down his response of ‘I should be’. He honestly deserves worse than a prison cell. 

He vaguely remembers the insults the team hurled at him as he stood motionless in the doorway, the only one sticking to his memory like a barnacle was Clint’s dig, “Stark never has your back when you need him, just ask Rhodey! How is he by the way?” Tony knew that Clint didn’t know that Rhodey actually died, and he hoped deep down Clint’s words would have been different if he _had_ known, but he honestly didn’t know. He faked fixing his sling to wipe away tears onto his jacket. 

He vaguely remembers talking to Sam and then his memory jumps to arriving in Siberia. He remembers having a nice conversation with Steve. He distinctly remembers the hope that twirled in his stomach that after all this was over they could still be friends again, maybe even a _family_ if he was lucky. But he should have known that Starks have horrible luck. _Hope_ was dangerous. 

The only crystal clear thing in his memory from that day was watching that video. He wants to puke just thinking about it. He remembers watching the light fade from his mother’s eyes and he remembers the red hot anger he felt at seeing that the hand that had killed his mother was only inches away from his own. He remembers the voice whispering ‘ _Avenge her_ ’ in his ear that he choked down upon looking at Barnes. But then he remembers the heart burn he felt at Steve’s betrayal. After that, everything is a blur. The last foggy thing he can remember is the hot anger he felt as he was forced to stare at the bloody shield that lay next to his face for hours. 

He lied, that’s not the last thing he remembers. The last thing he remembers is the crippling sense of loneliness as he reached hour three of being trapped in a dead suit in the middle of Siberia. He had heard the jet take off what felt like days ago. He was lucky that the suit was naturally warm, but he was quickly growing cold without the suit’s additional heater. He remembers the exact moment he came to terms with the fact that he would die alone in the middle of a Siberian Hydra base. He wondered if anyone would come to his funeral. And finally with the hope May would allow Peter to come, he fell into unconsciousness with a smile, happy over the thought that at least there would be _one_ person to mourn him. 

________________

Tony woke up about two days after in a random hospital in Russia. It has been almost two weeks since he woke up and he still has no idea who found him. 

He barely remembers anything but pain from the first few days of awakening. There was only one doctor in the whole ICU who knew English and Tony was only able to understand a bit due to the man’s thick Russian accent. It turns out Tony had taken too many hits to the head during the fight with the super soldiers that he came out of it with a brain injury. In addition, sitting in the cold for so long had given him hypothermia. Luckily, nothing had to be amputated but his fingers and toes were extremely numb. 

He hadn’t thought his brain injury was bad until they got him out the bed to start walking. Upon standing on his own feet, he immediately collapsed. The doctors had conducted tests and he worked with several physical therapists to learn his brain injury had affected his left side, making it weaker than his right. He couldn’t put weight on his left leg at all and his left hand couldn’t even squeeze a ball. His injury had also affected his speech, making his words come out slow and slurred. 

Another injury he discovered was his chest. The suit had done it’s best to protect him against the shield’s final hit, but his artificial chest had caved in slightly. It wasn’t enough to do surgery or replace the sternum which would come with its own complications, but it did have a further effect on his breathing. It also came with chronic pain, but that blended with the one big bruise his body felt like at the moment. 

Today was the day Tony arranged for himself to be flown back to the US. He had made a bit of progress using a walker and had gone through extensive speech therapy so that he at least was a bit more understandable. But alas, Tony was homesick. He missed his bots and since he couldn’t find his phone, he was anxious to answer back anyone that was worried about his whereabouts. At least someone had to be wondering where he had been for two weeks. At least someone had to care. 

No one. No one did. 

The tower was just as empty as when he left. He checked with Friday and the only calls he had received was from Ross. The voicemails were full of threats and all he was able to get out of it was that the Avengers escaped, Tony was going to pay for it, and he better call him back. 

Tony deleted them all. 

Tony did have an insane amount of emails though. He scanned them all for any of the Avengers’ names. He didn’t want to admit it, but a large part of him was hoping Steve would come for him. Invite him to join the team on their runaway adventure. Just once he wanted to be able to run from his problems. Just once he wanted to be included in the ‘Protected by Steve’ crew. Ross was after him too, why did no one stand up for him? Why did no one try to save him?

Opening the other emails, Tony realized his wishes of running away from his problems was even more unrealistic than he thought. The first few emails were from Pepper, angry that the SI stocks were dropping since he hasn’t produced any new content in over four weeks. She either didn’t realize or didn’t care he was dealing with the Accords and almost died. The others from her were lists of things she needed done. Instead of bringing the paperwork to him, she faxed and emailed digital copies instead. Tony figured her and Happy must have acted on their crushes if she was _that_ eager to avoid him. 

The other emails were bills. Since the financial side of the Accords was not drafted yet, all the damage Steve and his team had created was being charged to _his_ personal bank account. He looked at the Avengers bank account which was funded by himself, the government, and Shield, and learned it had been sucked dry- most likely by Steve to fund their runaway. 

He checked his finances and for the first time, he had to calm himself from a panic attack over the amount in it. He wasn’t broke, per say. But between paying his employees, paying for the MIT scholarships, paying for the medical bills of those affected by the Avengers, and paying for the damages for New York (which was still currently draining his account), he wondered if he would have anything left.

The last thing he wanted to do was fire his employees. SI employed over 3,000 people and many of his employees had this as their only source of income. He would not be the reason his employees ended up broke or homeless. 

He also couldn’t take away the scholarships from MIT, the kids would be devastated. He didn’t know what to do. He figured it would be best to lay low for now and hope the Avengers wouldn’t destroy another city. He would figure out something until then. 

Tony couldn’t work on the upgrades for SI because with his weak left side and his still numb fingers, he was useless. He decided to have Friday write up an Accords amendment that charged the finances of repairing damage to the government and UN. With that, he crossed his fingers it would pass and tried to erase the thoughts from his mind. 

He opened up the remaining emails and learned they were full of days and times for the funerals of the eleven killed in Lagos. He had missed two of them, but still had nine upcoming ones to attend. He cursed when he saw one of them was in three hours. After lots of debate he knew it wouldn’t be best for him to show up looking beat up and walking weird. He decided he would show up virtually and say a few words. 

It took all of the three hours to apply enough makeup to cover up his cuts and bruises and find his medicine when his leg and chest started spasming with pain. When he connected with the funeral home on video, he was immediately met with snarls of disgust.

“He couldn’t even show up in person.”

“I bet he doesn’t even feel guilty he killed my brother.”

“What a disgusting excuse for a human being.”

Each dig stabbed him in the heart and he fought tears as he tried to get through his speech. He didn’t respond or correct anyone. He just said his words and logged off. It seemed cold-hearted but he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears if he stayed any longer. 

After ending the call, he decided to go down to his workshop and figure out a way to attend the funerals without drawing attention to himself. He eventually came up with a blueprint for a brace to support his leg and allow him to walk for at least a little bit. The next funeral was tomorrow morning so he worked diligently to build it. It was hard only depending on his right hand and took literally all night to build something that should have taken max an hour, but he did it. 

He eventually fell asleep and woke up the next morning only an hour before he was due to attend. He peeled his face off of the workshop desk and quickly changed into another suit before applying the makeup again. He didn’t have time to test the brace so he only worked on tightening the bolts up to the minute before he had to leave and then slid the brace on. Immediately he shouted in pain as the dimensions were slightly off and metal digged into his skin in several places. He didn’t have time to fix it now, in fact his left hand was already shaking violently from last night's build. He was just grateful he drives with his right foot. 

Due to traffic, he entered the funeral about two minutes late with the funeral having just started. On the walk inside he practiced trying not to limp and bit his lip against the pain the brace was causing him. As he entered, a few people made nasty comments about his tardiness but the rest of the people ignored him. 

He had written up a generic speech for each of the funerals, having not known the people, but also to not cause a debate whether he cared about one death more than the other. He had to admit, the speech was slightly detached, but he genuinely was not good at feelings so for him it was really good. 

Even so, he was met with snarls again at his assumed ignorance over the deaths and his apparent lack of guilt. He knew people were probably speaking out of grief, but the words hurt. He hoped staying for the whole ceremony would bring better opinions, but even after the service people made sure to walk up and tell him what they thought of him. By the end, Tony was physically exhausted to the point where he was forced to manually lift his aching leg into the car, and he was way beyond mentally exhausted. 

He arrived home and could barely make it out of the car. When he finally ripped the brace off, he noticed his leg was bleeding in several places where the metal digged in and the whole limb was trembling. It was the first time he was forced to break out the wheelchair the hospital had given him. 

His nightmares were full of the angry stares of the funeral goers and the events of Siberia. It was almost funny how the sneers of angry strangers was extremely similar to the face of Steve as he pummeled the shield into Tony’s chest. Tony woke in a cold sweat and fumbled to the bathroom to grab several xanax pills in the hope they would help him sleep. He collapsed back in bed and swallowed the pills dry, not even counting how many he digested. Almost immediately his brain began to fog and his body melted into the sheets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Tapping on the glass

The funerals seemed to blend together with continuous glares and angry comments people throw his way. They all end the same too- with him stumbling home and drowning himself in pills. 

While most of his days were filled up with going to funerals, the rest was spent trying to fix his brace- which he didn’t make much progress with- and having Friday read him the new additions to the Accords. 

He had written an appeal for the financial amendment but re-reading the Accords as a whole, he realized there was so much more he had to change. Currently, the Accords were very harsh in taking away the rights of superheroes- it was very clear why the Rogues had disagreed with them. Though, Tony thought, he didn’t remember the Rogues ever sitting down and reading the whole document, but maybe he was mistaken. 

Since all his focus was on the Accords, he almost missed it when Friday read out an alert about Rhodey’s funeral. While he knew he would not receive an invitation, he had Friday watching the internet for any mention of it. The alert had come from a private source so he doubted many would be in attendance, therefore Tony decided he would risk it and attend. 

He thought getting dressed that day would be the hardest thing he had to do, and then he thought walking into the funeral would be the hardest, but being yelled at publicly by Rhodey’s mother was definitely the hardest thing. 

He arrived early to the funeral, hoping to not come into contact with anyone- which he didn’t. Upon entering the main room where the funeral was to be held, he was pulled forward by a large picture of Rhodey in the front. It was him in his uniform, looking not happy but not sad either. Tony hated it. The photo may have been of James Rhodes, but it was not of Rhodey. This was not the smile Rhodey wore when they both couldn’t sleep and went flying in their suits above the New York City skyline. This was not the smile Rhodey wore as they laughed over the ridiculousness of the Back to the Future movies. This was not the smile Rhodey wore while Tony threw up on the Ferris Wheel at a fair they had cut class to go to. This was not his best friend- his  _ brother’s _ smile. 

Tony turned his head against the photo and his heart stopped when his eyes landed on the casket and what was inside it. The casket was fancy and stiff, just like the man inside. The man inside wore an Air Force Uniform, ironed perfectly. The man inside was pale, cold looking. The man inside wore a frown, stiff and unnatural. The man inside was not his best friend, his brother. The innumerous times he had seen Rhodey, the man favored a colorful short-sleeve rather than a stiff suit, much more comfortable for movie-nights after a long week of work. Rhodey was never pale, always lively looking and expressive. And Rhodey rarely frowned, preferring to lighten a dark situation with a witty joke. The man inside was not his best friend, his brother. 

He didn’t even realize how hard he was gripping the edge of the casket until his hand started to hurt. Tears were pouring down his face and he unwillingly let out a loud sob. Just as his head banged on the edge of the casket in his grief, a voice yelled out. “Get away from him!” 

Tony looked up quickly, not even thinking to wipe away his tears. “Mama Rhodes-” he started sadly. 

“I said get away from him! Get out!” She cried, tear tracks covering her cheeks. A few men, Rhodey’s cousins, heard her cries and rushed to see what was going on. They quickly took in the situation and grabbed Tony’s arms, forcing him out of the church. 

Tony stumbled away from the casket and down the aisle. He was given no time to even say goodbye to Rhodey as he was ushered out the door. Tears still fell steadily from his eyes and he forced himself out of his grief-filled haze. 

He didn’t remember getting home, but he did recall the handful of pills he digested after throwing up violently in the bathroom. Which is where he woke up the next morning. 

Tony peeled himself off the bathroom tile. His body was shaking from the cold of the floor and sweating from dehydration. He had a stain of throw up down the front of his suit that was now crusted and dry. He gagged from the smell as he quickly lifted the piece of clothing over his head. He’d wash it later. 

He immediately collapsed upon hefting himself up using the sink. His left leg was shaking violently and spasming with pain. Pins were stabbing him in conjunction with his tightening muscles. On his second attempt up, he managed to grab some pain pills from the medicine cabinet before he was thrown to the floor again- this time he stayed there. 

It was midday when he woke up again in a haze. He tried to figure out what had awoken him since he had no plans to move from his freezing cold spot on the bathroom floor, but came up empty until he heard the door bang open. 

“You love being an alcoholic bastard, don’t you?” Natasha sneered from the doorway. 

Tony forced his lethargic head to turn towards her. “It’s wonderful, you should try it sometime,” he slurred out, it was an automatic answer.

Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled his arm up painfully. She dragged him out of the bathroom and into the living room before tossing him onto the couch. Tony squinted at the light from the windows and threw his arm over his eyes. “What do you want?” Tony coughed. 

Natasha stood in front of him angrily, not bothering to take a seat. “People have been contacting you and you’re not answering.”

Tony frowned.  _ Ignoring summons is normal for me. _ “So?”

“Have you considered some of this stuff might be important?” Natasha tapped her foot frustratedly. 

Tony frowned harder. Friday was filtering all of his emails and messages- he had received nothing important recently. “No,” Tony said finally. 

“Well it is,” Natasha huffed. “Some people from the UN are working to get the Avengers pardoned and they, _ we _ , need your input.”

Tony gulped. “They want the Rogues-”

“The Avengers,” Natasha corrected.

“To be cleared of their crimes? Next you're gonna tell me they’re requesting to be sent back to the compound,” Tony laughed anxiously.

“They are.”

Tony stared at Natasha for a long minute. “This is our home, Tony. We are a family. You’re the one who keeps trying to break us up.”

Tony wished he was still wearing his suit so he could throw up again and not have a pile of laundry. “I have to go. Answer your emails,” Natasha said a second before she was out of the door. 

Tony was motionless and stared at the spot she had been standing. He was the one trying to break them up?  _ Him _ ? And did she say  _ family _ ? What family? How was he actively trying to break up his family when they had all broken off and left him alone? A family doesn’t do that. The only family Tony has-  _ had _ \- is six feet under. 

Almost as if he had heard Natasha’s words, Vision had appeared hours later. 

It was dark, the light from the city streets was the only thing illuminating the living room space. Tony was still in the same spot, half because he was still sorting through his thoughts, and half because his leg prevented him from moving. Suddenly, Tony felt a breeze from the wall windows and he slowly looked over.

Tony simply stared at Vision, words not coming to his mind half because he was still thinking of Natasha’s words, and half because he genuinely didn’t know what to say to the being. 

“Hello Tony,” Vision said softly. 

Tony tried not to flinch at having Jarvis’ voice hurled at him like a knife. Vision was not Jarvis. Jarvis was not Vision. Jarvis would not have left him. Jarvis would not have killed his best friend, his brother. 

“I know it has been a long time since I have spoken to you, but I was...conflicted,” Vision said in his English drawl. 

Tony didn’t approve the scoff that escaped his mouth up in his brain’s control center. With his next words, “All of us are conflicted, at least I had the decency to stay and face my problems!” He knew his brain-to-mouth filter was broken. 

“I am sorry,” Vision said guiltily. “Maybe I should go.”

“No!” The connection is back online. “I am sorry, what I said was mean. I know you are under a lot of stress right now and are trying to sort through your feelings. You can stay.  _ Please _ . Please stay.”

Vision searched his eyes before nodding. He approached the couch slowly and read Tony’s expression one more time before sitting down a few cushions over. 

“Where have you been?” Tony asked.

“Around. I travelled, hoping I would be able to find the answers to how I should feel,” Vision said, copying Tony and staring at the blank television ahead. 

“Did you find them?” Tony asked, curiously. 

“No. Not yet.”

They sat in silence for a bit. “Do you know where the Rogues are?” Tony asked. 

“Yes.” Tony looked over at him. “And you do too.”

Tony sighed, resuming his stare ahead. “I do.”

“Are you going to give Ross their location?” Vision asked in a voice that already knew the answer. 

Tony sighed, suddenly hating himself even more than he did a minute ago. “No.”

The two went to bed not too long after their conversation. Tony actually waited for Vision to leave before limping his way to the bed. 

The first thing he did in the morning was try to fix the brace. The dimensions were off because of his weak left hand that took shaky measurements. He wanted,  _ needed _ , to go to physical therapy to help regain his strength, but with his finances so low, he decided to limit himself and wait to see what would happen with his Accords appeal. He couldn’t afford cosmetics like physical therapy, he needed to budget himself. 

And he was glad he did because not even a week later, the Rogues were on the news. 

22 deaths, 51 injuries.

They had run through a town looking for Hydra agents, before blowing up a large building ‘accidentally’. That’s all Tony had gotten from the report. He was furious. Not to mention, right after all of this, they went right back to their warm and cozy hiding spots- leaving Tony to clean up the mess as usual. 

Tony received another three bills in the mail- city damage, medical bills, and funeral expenses. Those and another email of a list of funerals he had to attend. Tony opened up his bank account and frowned at the red number. He would have to sell some of his estates. Even with that, he wasn’t sure he would financially survive. 

It wasn’t fair. Tony’s name did not appear at all on the news report, yet he was the one blamed. Guilty by association, was it? It. Was. Not. Fair. 

Tony didn’t tell Vision about his money problems since he seemed busy sorting through his own troubles. He often found Vision hovering in front of the window, staring out at the sky. The bustling city never attracted his attention, the android always preferred to stare out at the clouds and stars. 

Luckily, it was not long before Tony was summoned to discuss his financial appeal. A few UN representatives and Ross met with him via hologram meeting to discuss it all. 

“Yes, it does make sense to spread the funds-” One of UN reps nodded. 

“You are a billionaire, are you not?” Ross interrupted rudely. 

Tony sighed. “Yes, but-”

“Then why shouldn’t you pay for your own team? Don’t you think that’s kind of selfish to have us pay for things your team does?” Ross glared.

“Yes. No. What i’m saying is, I am being forced to pay for more than just the team. City damages, medical bills-”

“So? It’s the least you can do to help these people. I thought you were a philanthropist?” Ross smirked. 

“I agree with Mr. Stark, it is not fair to have him pay for city damages. That is not something a civilian should have to-”

“But he’s not a civilian is he? Under the Accords, he works for the government. So he should take some responsibility,” Ross interrupted again. 

“No. I cannot keep-” Tony put his foot down.

“You  _ can’t _ ? What, are you bankrupt? Broke?” Ross leaned into the camera, as close as could virtually get to Tony.

Tony fought a blush. “No, I just-”

“Okay then. We will discuss it further and get back to you. Meeting adjourned,” Ross said quickly, ending the meeting. 

Tony cursed the empty room. He hated Ross with everything he was. It was obvious the UN officials agreed with Tony, just none of them had the guts to speak up against Ross. Tony did, but it was hard when the man wouldn’t even let him get a word in. He decided it would be best if he met in person next time, then he could physically shut the man up if he needed to. 

Tony used his slightly improved brace to drag himself up towards the living room. When the elevator opened, he noticed Vision gone from his usual spot which must have meant the android was ‘traveling’ again and would be back later. It was horrible timing too, because no sooner did Tony enter the room, he collapsed to the ground in the midst of his first seizure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Should the Rogues be pardoned? Is Natasha a good or bad guy?


	4. This mess that I am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets a package and has some visitors.

Tony doesn’t remember falling, or shaking on the ground for several minutes. He only recalls waking up and the pain. His legs jerked involuntarily and it was not unsimilar to a charlie horse. His neck stiffened and the pain traveled all the way down his spine. He tried to unclench his jaw but none of his body parts would obey him. Finally, when he was turning dizzy from lack of air, his jaw released its hold and he took big breaths. He started gaining feeling in his limbs but they still shook terribly. Coming back to his body he also realized he had a horrible migraine that was throbbing against his skull. He tried to piece together his thoughts but his brain was extremely foggy and clouded. 

After a few minutes of laying on the ground, shaking, he managed to drag his body up to the couch and collapse breathlessly. 

He must have fallen asleep because the next time he opened his eyes, it was significantly darker in the room. The lights were off and the air was cold. Tony felt himself called to the light emitting from outside. 

He stumbled up, noticing his limbs were stiff and shaky, and braced himself against Vision’s favorite window. He pressed his face up against the cool glass and moved his feet forward so that his toes were becoming one with the window. While the window was sound-proof, he imagined the sounds of the city below in his head. He imagined the glass suddenly disappearing and his body falling slowly below. Would the stars grab him before he hit the ground? Would the moon slow his descent? 

He was jolted when his mind suddenly wandered to Rhodey. What was Rhodey thinking in his last moments? 

Did he imagine the ground as a blanket? Hoping the soft Earth would cradle him like a baby? Did he imagine a bubble suddenly forming around him? His fast descent suddenly slowing as he floated through the air? No. In his last moments, he probably imagined his best friend grabbing him out of the air. Feeling the titanium-alloy gauntlet grab him around the arm and pull him up. He probably imagined the relief at knowing he wasn’t going to die, that his best friend had his back. 

But that was the problem. The ground wasn’t a blanket, it was shockingly hard as it pushed against Rhodey’s impact. There was no bubble, the slowing was probably all in his mind as his dying body forced him unconscious. And his best friend didn’t pull him out of the air. His best friend was no more than an echoing whisper as the comm cut off inside the suit. Rhodey never experienced relief- he knew he was going to die. And he knew it because his best friend wasn’t there, didn’t have his back. His best friend was a fucking failure. Tony Stark was a fucking failure that couldn’t even save his friend. His best friend. His brother. 

Rhodey’s last moments were most likely filled with fear. He might have screamed. He might have cried. Did he fall unconscious in the air? Was it the impact that made him sleep? Or was he awake as his blood vessels burst and his heart exploded?

Tony jolted back from the glass and landed on his butt. He crawled backward until he smacked the side of the couch. He tried to catch his breath as Rhodey’s fall replayed over and over in his mind. He tried to stop his body’s shaking and sweating, but he couldn’t. He decided to just let it happen. Let his body search for air until it couldn’t anymore, let it shut down just as Rhodey’s did. 

Tony was upset when he woke up the next morning with breath in his lungs. 

The doorbell was ringing and the sunlight was hurting even through his closed eye-lids. Tony grumbled awake to see he was still on the ground in front of the couch. His arms were covered in goosebumps revealing his body’s desperate ache for a blanket during the night. 

Tony ran a quick hand through his hair and stumbled to the elevator. He reached the bottom floor and frowned when he saw a delivery man at the door. 

“Tony Stank?” The older man asked. 

Tony frowned at the name but shivered when he heard the ghosting echo of his best friend’s laughter. “Stark. Tony Stark,” he corrected, reaching for the package. 

“Close enough,” the man huffed and allowed Tony to sign.

Tony took the package up to his bedroom. He still had seen no sign of Vision and the dark part of his mind whispered about how the man decided to leave him. He told it to shut up and sighed when it didn’t. 

Inside the package was a letter and a flip phone. The childish part of him shivered in disgust at the ancient piece of technology. He flipped open the letter but froze as his eyes caught the word ‘Steve’ towards the bottom. The letter seemed to melt into his fingers, unable to be released. His mind read it once, twice, seven times. 

‘We all need family’ 

‘I know I hurt you’

‘I hope one day you can understand’

‘if you need us’

‘I’m sorry’

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

When you isolate a phrase, sometimes it changes the meaning. Tony isolated Steve’s apology and closed his eyes. He imagined the surrounding words were about the fight at the airport, were about the fight in Siberia, were about Rhodey’s death, were about leaving him _alone_ , were about taking Tony’s _family_. He savored the few seconds where his mind felt like it was being lifted from its current dark depths and moved into an ideal reality. Only to have it crashing back down when his eyes reread the letter for the eighth time. He ran to the bathroom to throw up. 

Despite his reaction, Tony tucked the phone into a drawer. He didn’t burn it or smash it or throw it like Rhodey would have told him to. He was a practical thinker. If there was an emergency the communication might come in handy. He told himself it was Rhodey’s spirit that possessed him when he ended up choosing a drawer in Wanda’s room to house the phone- a place he would never willingly visit- rather than a drawer in his own office. 

As he left the Avengers’ old floor, he made sure to grab all of the pills in the medicine cabinet so he wouldn’t be forced to come down there if he ran out. They had a bunch stored for after-mission pains and he knew he would need them for his leg. He might have subtly swallowed three vicodin tablets on his way to the elevator, (and two more for good luck). 

Tony froze as the elevator doors revealed Spider-Man perched on his couch. The figure stood when he noticed Tony.

“Hey Mr.Stark,” Peter’s anxious voice said after several silent seconds. 

“Why are you here?” Tony gasped out. He internally frowned when he realized how mean the words sounded. _I’ve missed you_ , he wanted to say. 

“I just want to make sure you were okay,” Peter said softly, pulling off his mask. 

“Well I’m fine. You need to go,” Tony said harshly, walking further into the room. _Thanks for checking on me_ , he wanted to say. 

“But what about the internship? You said-” Peter frowned, standing. 

“I know what I said! Things change Parker. Plus, are you forgetting about your Aunt? She’ll kill me. The internship is off.” Tony walked into the kitchen, turning away from the boy. _I don’t want to see you get hurt again_ , he wanted to say. 

“But-”

“Get. Out.” Tony emphasized, frustratedly. _Please leave, I will only hurt you further if you stay_ , he wanted to say. 

He wasn’t actually mad at the boy, but he was mad at himself in relevance to the boy. He was mad he allowed himself to get to know Peter. To _taint_ Peter. To _care_ for Peter. He was mad he put Peter into danger. He was mad he allowed Peter to see him as a mentor. He was mad he dragged Peter into this mess at all. _His_ mess.

“Fine,” Peter frowned. He started walking to the door but paused. “Mr. Stark? How is Rhodey?” He asked in a small voice. “When I left there were a bunch of paramedics but I never got to see if he was okay.”

Tony forced himself to stay facing the toaster. He hid his shaking hands in the bag of bread and hoped the boy wouldn’t pick up on it. “Rhodey,” he took a breath. “Rhodey’s okay.” _My best friend’s dead and I'm falling apart_ , he wanted to say. 

He heard Peter sigh. “Okay, good.” The boy still didn’t move. “Bye, Mr. Stark,” he said sadly. 

Tony didn’t respond but eventually he heard the elevator doors close. Tony threw away the loaf when he noticed the whole thing twisted tightly beneath his fingers. 

Tony felt like absolute shit, but he knew it was for Peter’s own good. A vicodin or xanax (maybe both?) will help him forget it all. 

Tony audibly groaned when only hours after Peter left, a black man with one eye had invaded his home as well. 

“Stark,” Fury greeted. 

Tony placed his sixth cup of coffee onto the kitchen island and approached the couch. “Nick,” he acknowledged. “Going to yell at me too?” 

Nick tilted his head and gestured for Tony to sit. “No, actually.”

Tony looked surprised. “No? Does this mean you _agree_ with the Accords?” 

Nick sighed, crossing his legs. “No. I don’t necessarily _agree_ with them. And neither do you. But I am- I _was_ the leader of an enforcement agency. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t agree with regulation.”

Tony nodded and looked at his hands. “So why are you here?” 

“Since SHIELD fell I've been busy with...confidential things. But I still care about you guys and am concerned with this so-called ‘Civil War’. I am here to help,” Nick said honestly. 

Tony scoffed and stood up. “Yeah, well your golden boy isn’t here and neither are your spies. They all left. So go skedaddle off to help them because I know you would never _ever_ help _me_.” Tony walks off. 

“Stark, you know that’s not true. I know I may have favored Steve, Natasha, and Clint in the past but-”

“See!” Tony shouted. He ignored the way his words slurred- the handful of pills he took an hour ago were finally working. “You don’t even call me by my name like you do them!”

“Tony-” Nick sighed, standing. 

“No! I’m not stupid! Don’t come here-” Tony swayed, stumbling to the side. “Don’t...don’t come here and-”

Nick frowned as he took in Tony’s appearance. The man looked horrible the way his emaciated frame was swimming in his clothes. His eyes were red with stress-filled bruises underneath them and his face was worryingly pale. His words were slurring together unintelligibly and matched his body’s unbalancedness. “Tony, are you okay?”

“Don’t tell me what...Don’t come here and-” Tony’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and everything went black. 

Nick looked sadly at the sickly man in his arms. _Steve what did you do?_

________________________

Tony was happy when he woke up in his own bed.

He figured Fury probably thought he fainted out of exhaustion. He would have to go lighter on the vicodin in the future. When he stumbled out of his bedroom, he found said man watching TV on his couch. “Get dressed,” Fury said, not moving his eyes from the television. 

Tony rolled his eyes but did as the man asked. He didn’t bother shaving or cutting his hair- at this point he couldn’t care what he looked like. He couldn’t stop himself from taking another two vicodin tablets though, they were proving to be very helpful for his twinging leg. He hadn’t taken off the brace in days, mostly because he had forgotten to, and the medicine was keeping the throbbing pain he felt underneath it at bay. 

Nick escorted him to a black truck. They rode in awkward silence for several minutes. “I really do want to help you, Tony.”

“How?” Tony said, looking straight. 

“I can’t offer much because Shield’s basically gone, but I can help you with the Accords. There are many things that need to be changed,” Nick said. 

“I know, I’m trying,” Tony sighed, rubbing his face. 

“I know you are, but I can help.”

“It’s not that simple, Nick. The Accords are a matter of ethics and morals. You can fight easily with facts but it’s extremely hard to fight with morals,” Tony said, finally looking at the man.

“But not impossible,” Nick smirked. “Give me one.” 

Tony looks at him for a long time before huffing. “The Accords say ‘Individuals are subject to a power analysis and must be under 24/7 surveillance if they are found to have powers’.”

“No human being should be under 24/7 surveillance,” Nick said. 

“True, but we also don’t want anyone with powers to roam free. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing there are people running around with actual superpowers and are not being supervised.” Tony shivered, thinking of Wanda. “There was a motion to change the 24/7 surveillance to a tracking bracelet.”

“That’s also inhumane. Normal people aren’t tracked by the government like that,” Nick argued. 

“But again, we don’t want that kind of power running around unwatched,” Tony countered. 

Nick thought for a second. “So how about this: instead of tracking location, the bracelet can track power levels. So if the individual uses their powers in an insane amount without permission from the UN, they get sent an alert and _only then_ that person can be tracked,” he reasoned. 

Tony thought it over and grinned slightly. “That’s actually a good idea.”

“I know it is. Look who you are talking to,” Nick smirked. Tony rolled his eyes. “We are here.” 

Tony looked out the window and saw they were parked in front of a children’s hospital. Nick reached onto the backseat and handed Tony a baseball hat. “Wear this,” he instructed, getting out of the car. 

Tony followed Nick inside and he froze. The hallways were lined with Avengers decorations and streamers. Kids were wandering around the halls in wheelchairs and socked feet, IV stands trailing behind them, but they all were dressed as some kind of superhero. The wall in the front lobby held a large sign that said “Happy Avengers Day!” 

A small girl stepped in front of Nick and Tony. “Hello Misters, who is your favorite superhero?” The small girl asked. She was bald under her big woolen Iron Man hat and she wore a red and gold tutu with medical tubes sneaking under it. Tony stared silently. 

“My favorite superhero is Iron Man, and this guy loves the Hulk,” Nick answered, not looking at Tony. 

The little girl’s eyes lit up and she bounced in place. “I love Iron Man, too! He’s my favorite! He saved my daddy in New York! And the Hulk is awesome! Did you see when he saved Iron Man when Iron Man fell out the sky?” 

Nick smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm. “I did. I’m glad your father is okay.”

“Yes, he’s great! All thanks to Iron Man! Oh,” she jumped and grabbed something from the table behind her. “Here’s your lollipops!” She handed Nick one with an Iron Man wrapper and Tony one with a Hulk wrapper. 

“Thank you, sweetie,” Nick said before they started walking down the hall. 

Tony was quiet the whole time. Luckily no one noticed him, and he hoped that was more because of the baseball hat and not his disheveled appearance. He and Nick walked around the children’s hospital silently, taking in the view while sucking on their lollipops. The kids had decorated it with their own drawings and artwork of the Avengers which lines the walls and windows. The hospital served Avengers themed treats and showed Avengers cartoons on the televisions. 

Nick and Tony stood in the doorway of one of the hospital rooms. They watched two young boys dressed as Iron Man and Captain America save several kids acting as civilians. They finished the mission and the two boys high-fived as the kids cheered. Nick leaned over to Tony. “That’s why we fight,” he said softly looking at the kids. Tony nodded. 

“By the way, Stark,” Nick said, tossing his finished lollipop in the trash. “You taste delicious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Tony needs someone to lean on for the eventually comfort after the building angst. Are we okay with Tony & Nick (bromance/mentorship)? If not, please provide suggestions!


	5. Nobody deserves to be forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets visitors and bad news.

Tony woke up the next morning to unbearable pain. 

He had forgotten to take any pain pills and his leg was absolutely throbbing. Tears erupted in his eyes as he fought to sit up. The pain sent sparks up his spine and he was forced to collapse against the pillows. For a split second his mind fogged over from the pain and he reached for his phone. His thumb trembled over the screen trying to find someone to call to help him. His mind told him to ask Jarvis to summon Steve from downstairs. But as he went through his almost empty contact list, his brain suddenly cleared and his world crashed when he remembered that he was completely alone. 

With shaking hands Tony sat up and peeled the brace off of his leg, screaming through clenched teeth the whole time. Pins and needles stabbed the limb as soon as he started tugging and the appendage jerked uncontrollably. When the brace was finally off, Tony tossed it across the room and he fell, panting against the sheets. It was hard to breathe past the throbbing and soreness but he fought. When his brain finally registered the pain was getting no better, he allowed himself to drift back into unconsciousness.

Tony debated demolishing his doorbell when he woke up to the sound. It wasn’t necessarily the sound that bothered him, it was the unconscious hope that surged through his chest every time he heard it. His heart would thud, excitedly hoping someone had returned for him. Hoping the team would be standing outside, shouting apologies and talking about how they’d missed him and didn't mean to leave. Hoping Pepper would be standing tall in her heels behind the door, explaining how she had just broken up with Happy because she realized her heart still loved Tony. Hoping it would be Rhodey when he opened the door, silently pulling him into a big hug as they both cried into each other's shirts. He tried not to think about how long it had been since he’d been hugged. 

The doorbell ringing again hurled him out of his thoughts and brought him to the next concern of how he would even  _ get _ to the door. Tony eyed the wheelchair abandoned on the side of his bed and sighed. 

Opening the front door, he frowned when he saw it was Happy standing on the other side, a guilty look on his face and hat in hand. “Hey boss,” Happy smiled nervously. 

“Don’t call me that,” Tony said flatly. There was an awkward moment when the two simply stared at each other. Tony snapped out of his swirling thoughts and wheeled backwards to let the man in. 

Happy walked in awkwardly and stood stiff as if this was not a building he had been in a hundred times before. A building he had once called  _ home _ . Tony took pity on him and gestured him to the living room in front of them. Instead of transferring to the couch, Tony simply rolled up next to it, unsure if he would be able to support himself with the pain that was slowly taking over his senses. It felt horrible to have his leg bent on the wheelchair’s footrest but he did not want to show any weakness in front of Happy. It was funny, he would have gladly asked the man to wipe his ass for him a few years ago, but now the trust and comfort they had with each other was washed away. He could barely look the man in the eye. 

“What happened?” Happy finally said into the silence, gesturing to Tony’s wheelchair. 

Tony looked down and picked a thread off his sweatpants. “Accident on the job,” he huffed, feeling self conscious. 

Happy nodded, accepting the answer. “I’m sorry,” he blurted. 

Tony looked up at the man’s sad face but quickly forced his gaze to the window- Happy had the superpower of looking so pathetic that anyone would almost always take pity on him and Tony didn’t want to fall for it. 

Happy sighed loudly. “Pepper-”

“I’m not mad,” Tony interrupted. Narrator:  _ He was, in fact, mad. _

Happy looked up in surprise. “You’re not?”

Tony shook his head, still looking out the window. “No, I'm not. I’m happy Pepper found someone. She never liked my superhero stuff and I'm...glad, that she found someone who was not forced to disappoint her.”

“That means so much to me, Tony,” Happy smiled wide. “These past three years, she’s made me so happ-”

Tony froze. “How long?” 

Happy quickly turned red when he realized his mistake. “You’ve been together for three years? I was dating Pepper for two of those,” Tony growled. 

“Well, not together,” Happy sweated. “We just dated.”

“Did you have sex with her?” Tony asked suddenly. 

Happy grimaced which was an answer enough. “That’s actually what I came to talk to you about.” Tony finally looked Happy in the eye. “She’s pregnant.”

Tony couldn’t breathe. 

“And she wants you and Rhodey to be the kid’s godfathers.”

The air in the room was suddenly sucked out. He couldn’t breathe. 

“I just haven’t been able to get in contact with Rhodey, so I was hoping you could talk to him. I assume he’s angry over this whole-”

“Rhodey’s dead,” Tony said unknowingly. 

Happy’s face paled in a matter of seconds. “What?” he whispered. 

“Rhodey’s dead. He’s dead and you need to leave,” Tony choked. He wheeled over to Happy and started forcing him out the door. “He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead,” Tony chanted under his breath. When the door slammed shut, Tony sat frozen in the middle of the room. “Rhodey’s dead. Rhodey’s dead. He’s dead,” he whispered in a trance. 

His best friend is dead and his girlfriend is pregnant with his friend’s kid. It wasn’t so much Pepper was pregnant with Happy’s kid, it was more so that she was pregnant at all. Despite Tony’s wish for kids, Pepper had argued adamantly with him that she never wanted any children. It was an argument that happened at least once a month, especially once the Avengers moved in and Tony got to learn what it was like to have a family. 

Tony wondered what changed her mind. Or was it less the fact she didn’t want to have kids, and more so that she didn’t want to have them with  _ him _ ? She couldn’t even entertain the idea of having Tony’s DNA in something that came from her. She hated him that much. And now she wanted him to be the child’s godfather? Or maybe she just wanted Rhodey, who was way more responsible, but didn’t want to cause an argument so she asked them both? He had so many questions, but deep down he didn’t want to know the answers to them. 

Somehow, he found himself in his old bedroom he’d shared with Pepper. It was down the hall from his current one, which was smaller since he now slept alone. His hands unconsciously wheeled himself into the walk in closet and towards his old drawer. He tried to snap himself out of his daze but his hands continued to open the drawer and reach inside. His heart thudded when he pulled out a small square box and opened it up to reveal the ring inside. 

Tony had picked out the ring about three months before all of this happened, intending on popping the question to Pepper when the time was right. He just knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, growing old and eventually convincing her to have children- start a family. The ring was actually his grandmother’s and he got it engraved with “Proof you are Tony Stark’s heart” as a play on her gift to him all those years ago. 

Looking at it now, he wanted to vomit. Had he been that stupid? That naive to think she would want to be tied down to him? That she would see that beautiful future of them in his head? She and Happy had been together for three years, but how long before that did she lose her love for him? How long had he been thinking about that ring when she was next to him, thinking about how to tell him it’s quits? 

Tony forced himself to calm down and moved himself to the workshop. His arm had been better lately and he needed the distraction of work. As the holograms lit up and his bots came to life, he found a brief feeling of satisfaction wash over him. 

“Hello, Boss,” Friday said and Tony jumped. He had her disabled in most areas of the house so it wasn’t often he heard her voice. He was tired of her nagging him about his bad habits, and frankly the loss of Jarvis was still painful for him. 

“Hey, Fri. Anything new?” He asked, wheeling over to the desk. 

“Hello, Boss. You have 14 new emails,” she said before each one appeared before him.

Tony scanned through the long messages. More funerals, more damage, more bills. One email caught his eye- it was about pardoning the Rogues. It was from an anonymous email address but Tony could easily guess who sent it. He scanned through it and wanted to laugh. They wanted a pardon on the grounds that ‘they didn’t mean to hurt anyone’ and ‘Captain America doesn’t have a bad bone in his body’. It would never go through and probably wouldn’t even be worthy of a trial. Tony trashed it. 

Another message that caught his eye was from his main bank. It was a letter telling him to file for bankruptcy because in about a month's time if his bills kept up, he would be bankrupt. Tony put his head in his hands. He would never willingly take money from important things like medical bills of victims or city damages, but a small part of him wished he could just say no to it all. He wished he could shout a loud ‘leave me alone’ to the world. 

But he knew he couldn’t. The world depended on Tony Stark. The world needed his money, because that’s all he was good for. No one cared that it didn’t grow out his ass. No one cared that despite his previous look of spending his money on large parties and worthless things, he actually used it for good, for important things. No one cared that behind the large dollar signs, there is actually a person. Well, a soon to be  _ homeless  _ person. 

Tony spent the rest of the evening on the phone with his bank, selling his estates and pulling money from wherever he could. It was when they told him he would have to sell the Avengers Compound to finish funding the city damages he decided to take a break. 

That led to a call with Ross. He hated the man so much, but there was a part of him breaking when he realized he was going to have to lose his home,  _ their _ home. He couldn’t do it. 

“We want it,” Ross said after Tony’s long speech. It was precisely what Tony wanted him to say. He knew Ross wouldn’t like the idea of the bank having the Avengers Compound in their possession. He and the UN would jump at that offer of control. “We’ll buy it from you for $500 million.”

It was less than Tony spent building it, but since Ross was letting him continue to live there, he accepted the offer. He should have known he would grow to regret it. 

Fury showed up not too long after that call, appearing on Tony’s couch as the man wheeled himself into the living room. Tony only sighed. 

Nick raised his eyebrow slightly at the wheelchair. “What happened?” 

“Accident on the job,” Tony muttered. “What do you want?” He changed the subject quickly. 

Nick’s eye lingered on the chair but he moved his eye back to Tony’s when he accepted he would receive no further information from the genius. “I need you to catch me up with all of...this.”

Tony’s eyes squinted. “This? What is  _ this _ ?”

Nick rolled his eye. “The Civil War...Ross. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Tony scoffed. “The leader of the nosiest organization on the planet doesn’t know what’s going on?” Tony repeated skeptically.

Nick sighed, his shoulders hunching slightly. “I told you Shield fell. And i’ve been dealing with something...a whole lot bigger than this. I’ve looked at news articles but even they don’t know what caused all of this. I’d like to hear it from you.” 

Tony was almost scared of the vulnerability he saw in Nick’s eyes. His mind floated to a time where Nick was a main part of the Avengers. The missions, the decisions, the plans all went through him. Tony wondered if the Civil War would have happened if Nick, Maria, and Agent were still part of the team. “Fine,” he said. “Only if you do me a favor.”

That was how Tony got Nick to fix his brace for him. He guided the man on the correct tools and where to tighten, while he swallowed several pills when Nick’s back turned. While Tony was gaining a bit more control over his left hand, it still shook terribly when faced with things that require lots of coordination like using small bolts or holding a pen. When they were finished, Tony snapped the brace onto his leg and stood, desperate to be out the chair. 

Immediately he swayed upon standing, exhausted after such a long day. “We had a deal,” Nick reminded. 

Tony’s rapidly closing eyes fluttered as the man’s hand waved. “Yeah, just....Friday?” Tony would be mad at himself in the morning when he realized that in giving Nick access to Friday’s database, he was giving Nick way more information than he was comfortable with sharing. But for now, he closed his eyes and allowed his pill cocktail to drag him to sleep. 

As Tony slept on the workshop couch, Nick took a seat and started from the beginning. He watched security cameras, listened to phone calls, and even watched Siberia through Iron Man’s helmet recording. For once though, he knew he was going to use this insider knowledge for the good reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for this late update! If it's been days and I have not updated, feel free to yell at me! (It fuels me to write)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Thoughts?


	6. How do I step into the sun?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Nick get a visitor, Vision returns, and Ross wants answers.

Nick did not sleep at all last night. He read and watched every bit of information on Tony’s drive. He wanted to throw up. 

People underestimate how much he cares about the Avengers. He may look and sound cold, but he genuinely cares about them. He spent so much time choosing the perfect candidates and helping them get along. He sacrificed so much so that they could become a team, a _ family _ . And with one document, one video, it all collapsed. He was heartbroken, but most of all, he was angry. 

Tony was the hardest for him to get along with. That has much to do with Nick and his dad’s past rather than their own. But one day, Tony finally opened up to him, and they actually became pretty close. It was a few missions after New York, and a few weeks after they all moved into the compound. He and the genius were having a private meeting and at the end, Tony thanked him (something he doesn’t do very often). He talked about how his life had changed now that he had his fellow heroes in his life. He finally had people that could relate to him, that carried the same burden, that were just as lonely as he was. And Nick didn't know exactly what they got up to in the compound, but it seemed to really affect Tony for the better. 

But now, he was back at square one- actually even further back than that. And now there was no team, no  _ family _ to lean on. 

Nick closed off his dark thoughts and focused on his task of making breakfast. Tony was in a deep sleep and he hoped the man would stay that way- he knew the genius suffered from insomnia. He wanted to talk to Tony about what he learned last night when he finally woke up and hoped a nice breakfast would loosen the man’s tongue. 

Nick was just about to flip the pancakes when he heard a thud from the bedroom. Turning off the Stove, Nick dashed down the hall to see what happened. 

He found Tony seizing on the floor. 

Like the trained Agent he was, he immediately held in his panic and ran over to the genius. He removed all objects from around them and turned Tony into the recovery position. The billionaire was jerking and convulsing violently, a constant grunt escaping his lips as his head banged against the floor. Nick quickly placed a pillow under it. 

“You’re okay,” Nick said softly as the grunts grew louder. He checked his watch, timing the seizure to make sure it didn’t go past five minutes. Luckily, at the three minute mark, Tony’s jerking started to slow down. His limbs seemed to move slower but still clenched and unclenched rhythmically. 

“Calm down, it’s okay,” Nick said. Tony’s grunts turned smoothly into whimpers and soon his body was still. His breathing was deep and occasionally a shudder would run through him, but the seizure seemed to be over. 

It wasn’t long before Tony’s eyes started blinking lazily. He groaned and turned over on his back. “You with me, Tony?” Nick asked, leaning into the man’s eye sight. Tony let out another groan in response and nodded uncoordinatedly. 

While Tony recovered, Nick followed his first aid training and took catalogue of the man. He placed a hand on Tony’s forehead and learned while he was slightly warm, it didn’t seem to be a fever. His pulse seemed a bit fast too, but nothing worrying. Before he could finish his assessment, Tony started fighting to get up. “Chill out for a second,” Nick chided. 

Tony ignored him and fought to sit up. Nick watched him flex his fingers slowly and curl his toes. His body seemed to react a bit slower than Tony was okay with, but that didn’t stop the man from trying to continue to stand. “Do you have epilepsy and it’s not in your file?” Nick asked, eyebrow raised. 

“No,” Tony grunted. Nick was forced to hold up the man when he swayed upon standing. 

“Why are you always in a rush?” Nick huffed. 

“Time is precious,” Tony muttered. But from the red blush on his cheeks, Nick knew he was just embarrassed to be seen as ‘weak’. He was genuinely concerned for the man’s wellbeing. 

Nick held him until Tony pulled away, dragging his feet towards the door. Nick followed his slow pace as the genius stumbled to the living room. He almost slammed into Tony when the man stopped suddenly. It was then he noticed Romanov standing in the middle of the room arms crossed and face angry. Her face relaxed slightly when she noticed him. 

“Nick?” She frowned.

“Romanov,” he acknowledged, not unkindly. Tony continued his slow walk to the couch. 

“I need to talk to Stark.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Then go ahead,” Nick said, sitting next to the man on the couch. 

  
Natasha’s eyes got even thinner but she huffed before sitting down across from them. “You still haven’t spoken out about the pardons,” she said angrily. 

Tony didn’t respond and ignored everyone’s eyes. Nick watched him wearily. The billionaire had just had a seizure and was acting like it was just a normal day. He wasn’t a doctor but strongly believed Tony ought to see one. 

Natasha grew quickly annoyed by Tony’s silence. “Stark. We need you to-”

“And I needed you,” he mumbled, sitting back further on the couch. “As in past tense.” Natasha looked sheepish for a second but quickly replaced her mask. Tony continued to look past them at the window, his voice low but dangerous. “That trumps what you all need. It’s too late, dear.”

Natasha stood, beyond angry. “Like you were there when we needed you! You are the last one that should talk about trust and loyalty,” she scoffed. 

Tony stood as well, hitting the coffee table and spilling the old cup of tea that sat on it. “You know what I need? I need a shave,” he said loudly. Natasha’s mouth widened as he ignored her.

In a fit of anger, she grabbed his arm tightly over the coffee table between them, pulling him towards her. “This is not a game,” she grumbled. Tony stumbled and almost fell if Nick didn’t reach out. 

“Hey!” Nick yelled, causing Natasha to look over. “You have no right to come here and force him to do something for you,” he shouted. “No right.”

Natasha was quiet but let go of Tony harshly. She started walking towards the door and Nick followed her. “If I ever see you back here, there’s going to be a big problem,” he growled. Natasha stared at him for a moment before leaving. 

Nick took a deep breath before turning back to Tony who still stood, now facing the window. Nick approached quietly and stood next to him, staring out at the view. “I need a shave,” he heard Tony mutter softly to himself. 

Nick looked over at the sickly-looking genius. His eyes were glazed over and he was trembling. “Why didn’t you tell me Rhodes is dead?” Nick asked softly. 

He saw the billionaire’s face tighten and the trembling turned to full on shaking. His breathing started to pick up as his eyes focused back on reality. “I need a shave,” he repeated before walking off. Nick watched him go sadly. 

___________________

Tony was staring off into space in his workshop when Vision faded into view. He forced himself not to jump as the android approached suddenly. “Hello, Mr. Stark,” Vision said cautiously. 

Tony ran his eyes over the android slowly. “Where have you been?” He said, not unkindly.

Vision looked down before floating closer to the billionaire. “I am leaving,” he said softly. 

Tony looked up suddenly in distress. “What? Why? Do you not like it here? Did I do something? We can-”

“It’s not your fault, Tony,” Vision interrupted. “I just…” The android sighed and looked down at his feet. “I visited Wanda. We...talked.”

The lab was silent for several minutes as the words sunk in. “I get it,” Tony said finally.  _ He didn’t get it, he was so confused. He was so angry. He was so hurt. _ “You want to run off with your girl. I understand. I know how love can be.”  _ No he doesn’t. He thought he knew, but he was wrong. Pepper would never sacrifice anything to be with him.  _

Vision melted in relief. “I’m glad you understand. She apologized for her actions and she wishes- we  _ both _ wish to reconcile.”

“I’m happy for you, Vision.”  _ He is not happy. He is angry. He is mad. He is jealous. He is hurt. _ “When are you coming back?”

Vision looked conflicted. “I am not coming back.” Tony fought to keep his face still. “I am going to stay with Wanda for however long she’ll have me.”

“Okay. Good luck, buddy,” Tony said, mouth in a straight line.  _ I hope it all fails so you’ll come back to me.  _

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. Good luck on your endeavors as well.” Those were Vision’s last words before he floated away. 

Those were the last words before Tony was all alone.  _ Really _ alone. It felt like losing Jarvis all over again. He knew his relationship with Vision wasn’t the strongest, but he always believed the android’s unique creation drew them together. Tony was a part of him. And with Jarvis inside of him, Vision was a part of Tony too. 

He knew Vision wasn’t choosing a side in this war, but looking around, he couldn’t help but feel like Vision had. There was no one left in his family now. The Rogues had taken it all away. Even the one that was literally part Tony.

When he blinked from his thoughts, hours had gone by. And somehow, a bottle of alcohol was in his hand too. Blinking again, he took in his stained shirt, the burning in his throat, and the fact the bottle was empty. His body was already a step ahead of him. He’d need a few more bottles. 

Tony spent the evening drinking himself to oblivion. He was very far from a lightweight, so after three bottles, he was still relatively ‘sober’. Therefore, when an emergency alert lit up the workshop, it only took him three tries to get up from where he had fallen in front of the desk and open it up. 

It was a message from Ross that he was needed at the UN tomorrow morning. There was no other information offered but from the tone of the message it couldn’t be good. 

He looked over at the additional bottle and a half he had left.  _ Might as well.  _

__________________

When he was brought into a separate conference room with only Ross inside, he should have ran out immediately. But in his exhausted and hungover state, he simply sat down in the black chair offered. 

His second tell should have been when the man locked the door and closed the blinds- which can never mean anything good. 

“Tony, I’m going to make this short,” Ross started, walking around the room slowly. It reminded Tony of the way a shark would circle it’s prey. *Cue Jaws music* “We are not getting anywhere in terms of finding the Rogues, and it’s time to advance to the next steps.” 

He stopped in front of Tony and leaned slightly over him. “Where can we find Laura Barton?” 

Tony forced his face to stay blank under Ross’ scrutiny. “I have no idea who that is.” 

There were several moments where Ross searched his eyes, growing more and more irate when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Finally, he stepped back and walked away. He picked up the folders at the other end of the table and slid them across to Tony. 

As Tony picked them up, Ross continued his threatening circle. “Laura Barton, Cassandra Lang, and Sarah Wilson. Do these names mean anything to you?”

Tony flipped through the folders lazily, though internally he was panicking. While the folders were not packed with information, Ross already had ideas where he could find these people. He had 50mi radius of the area near Laura’s farm which he planned to search in three days time, four schools he planned to hack into to look for Scott’s daughter, and even though he did not know the location of Sam’s younger sister, he had researchers already looking for more info on her. “I have no idea who these people are,” Tony said firmly, setting down the folders. He had recorded the contents of the folders into his glasses and Friday was already downloading it. 

He was technically telling the truth. Besides the short trip they made to Clint’s farm, he knew virtually nothing about his teammates’ lives outside of the Avengers. Which was not by lack of trying. He tried on many occasions to get the group to open up, share more things about their lives besides how many bullets they could shoot in 1 minute. But it never worked, they were so secretive. But seeing how Clint’s kids ran over to Natasha, seeing the little bit of recognition in their eyes as they looked at Steve, Tony wondered if it was just  _ him _ they were secretive with. 

Ross glared at him for a long time before snatching back the folders angrily and storming away. “I will find them,” he growled before slamming the door closed. 

Tony threw off his glasses and sighed. A migraine was already forming and his hands were shaking. He had so much work to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more Civil War action, check out my story Never Forgive which I am continuing! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! P.S. More Peter coming soon!


	7. I'm flying blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to make sure the Rogues' families are safe.

Tony called Laura Barton eighteen times and still no answer. 

As soon as he left the meeting with Ross, he had non-stop been trying to get the Rogues’ families safe. He ended up finding more information than Ross’s almost-bare folders and with it he was able to get in contact with most of his ex-teammates’ families. 

It turns out Scott’s daughter is currently living with his ex-wife, Maggie Lang, and is therefore in a different school district. Tony used this to his advantage. Ross didn’t have any information on Maggie Lang, so he changed all her information so it would appear with her husband’s last name. If Ross ever got close to discovering her, her name would be Maggie Paxton. He was also able to change Scott’s daughter’s name to Mary Paxton. Now, when Ross looked, he would see that Cassandra Lang is still enrolled into the school near Lang’s abandoned house. If he happened to find Maggie Paxton, he would see that she has a daughter with Jim Paxton who is four years younger than Cassandra. It was not a perfect plan, but it would suffice for now. 

Tony created a Sarah Wilson that lives in Europe and frequently calls Sam’s phone (which Ross had taken upon the Rogues’ stay in the Raft) and planted that for Ross to find as well. He kept his own tabs on Sarah Wilson who lives somewhere in Michigan, but is not easy to discover. Even so, he was prepared to bring her to the compound if Ross got anywhere near her location. 

Laura Barton was a whole different concept altogether. He had no idea how Ross got her location, but he was quickly closing in. While simultaneously creating these alternate egos for the rest of their families, he had been trying to contact her to get her to evacuate the farm. She did not answer any of his calls, even though he knew she had his number. 

Tony sighed, hanging up again when he received her voicemail. He would have to go get them before Ross could. Bringing along his suitcase suit, he quickly shut down the lab and ran to the quinjet. It would take a few hours to get there, but according to the file Ross showed him, he had time before the search would commence. 

He landed the quinjet as close to the back of the house as possible and stepped out. He decided to leave his suit and simply take a gun since nothing looked out of place and he didn’t want to scare the kids. Walking along the grass, he took in the familial farm. It was not very large, at least for his standards, but it was homey. It was exactly what Tony pictured when he thought of himself retiring and settling down with a family. Him and Pepper with their own cabin in the middle of nowhere. Lots of trees and grass for their children to play in- Tony would definitely build a treehouse for them. It was quiet, but it was peaceful, and Tony found himself jealous and angry at Clint for throwing away something so beautiful. 

Tony knocked on the door and stood back. He could hear a bit of rustle in the house, but it took awhile for someone to answer the door- it was pretty early in the morning, after all. He wasn’t prepared for the bitch slap that caught his face just as the door swung open. “Fuck you Tony Stark!” Laura Barton yelled. 

Before Tony could say anything, the woman was swinging again. “Get away from my house! I know what you did!” Tony ducked before he could get the shit slapped out of him for a second time.

“Mrs. Barton, please. I know you’re angry and upset, but we have to leave. Ross is-” 

“No, i’m not going anywhere with you!” Tony frowned when he heard the low sound of helicopters flying overhead, approaching quickly. “Clint told me what-”

“Shit,” Tony cursed. He slid past Laura into the house and dashed upstairs. “Kids, we gotta go,” he said to the small boy and girl who were playing. The kids looked at him funny and he was forced to lift the girl and grab the boy’s hand when they didn’t move. He brought them downstairs to the living room where Laura was frantically trying to call Clint on the phone who was not answering. “Laura, I know you’re angry, we gotta-”

Bullets flew through the house, smashing the windows and causing feathers to fly in the air from couch cushions. As soon as he saw the first bullet shoot through the house, he quickly turned so he was covering Lila and guided Cooper to the floor. He located Laura, who was hiding behind the kitchen island. “The quinjet is parked out back, take the kids and go, I'll cover you,” he shouted to her. 

Her eyes were wide as she took in her words. “The baby’s upstairs,” she cried. 

Tony frowned and looked towards the stairs. “I’ll get him, just get the kids out,” he said. Laura nodded, and waited for Tony’s signal. 

Tony waited several seconds, counting in his head. And finally, when he noticed a lull in the shooting as the gunmen changed rounds, he gestured for them to go. Laura ran over, holding her daughter and dragging her son out the back door. Tony ran behind them, shooting towards the front of the home. Just as they were exiting, a stray bullet sailed towards Cooper and in a split second, Tony knocked him to the ground, taking the bullet from the back. Tony forced himself not to shout to alert Laura. 

He dragged himself to his feet and frowned when he saw Cooper still collapsed on the floor. The boy’s eyes were closed and his head was bleeding from where he impacted with the ground. Laura looked back from where she and Lila were running and frowned when she didn’t see her son. “I got Cooper, just go!” Tony said firmly. Laura looked unsure but continued running to the quinjet. 

Tony made sure Cooper was safe and covered before running upstairs to the baby. The small boy was crying loudly but Tony just picked him up in a blanket and ran downstairs. With all the adrenaline, his bullet wound felt like a love tap and so he ignored it and fought to get this family to safety. 

Downstairs, Cooper had still not moved. Tony quickly gathered him up in his other arm and pressed a stray towel onto his head wound. He made sure the baby was in his weaker left hand, but even still it trembled as he carried both boys’ weight. He ran faster than he ever had before outside towards the quinjet, and just as they entered it, the gunmen entered the house through the windows. Tony quickly closed the quinjet door and took off. 

Everyone was still panting and crying as he put in the coordinates for the hospital next to the compound. As soon as he finished, he walked over to the cot he had placed Cooper on and checked on the wound. It was bleeding heavily, but he wasn’t too concerned since head wounds usually did that. He started wrapping the boy’s head in a bandage. 

“Is he going to be okay?” He heard a voice ask to his left. He quickly turned and saw Laura staring teary eyed at her son. 

“I think so,” Tony said quietly. 

They sat in silence as Tony bandaged the boy and got him settled. “Thank you,” Laura whispered, still not breaking her eyes from her son’s limp figure. 

Tony’s lip tightened. “Are the rest of you hurt?” he asked instead. 

Laura frowned. “No.”

Tony stood, picking up the garbage and looking at no one. “There are more beds in the back, we will be there in about two hours. Help yourself to any food.” He walked away, feeling Laura’s intense gaze at his back. 

Collapsing in the pilot’s seat, he pulled up his shirt, grimacing at the large wound in his side. He used a bandage to painfully wrap it. Laying his head on the headrest, he let his eyes close as the adrenaline started to wear off. 

________________________

Tony stood outside Cooper’s hospital room, anxious. The doctor had informed him the boy was in a coma and they had no idea when he would wake up. He had been sitting in the waiting room for about an hour since he was not family and wouldn’t be allowed inside until the boy was declared stable. 

The doctor had finally allowed visitors several minutes ago but Tony was nervous at facing Laura. He didn’t know if he could take another look of disgust so similar to the one the funeral go-ers shot at him. He finally decided he deserved the consequence and walked inside. 

Laura turned to look at him, and while it wasn’t disgust that was shot his way, it was a large mix of emotions that contorted her face. He recoiled at the anger that shone in her eyes and her clenched jaw. 

Tony looked at the pale boy on the bed and the crying girl curled next to him.  _ He did this _ . 

“Why are they doing this?” Laura growled, hand tight around Cooper’s limp one. 

“Ross is looking for your husband,” Tony choked out. “He figured you would know where he is.”

Laura gulped, looking back at her comatose son. “I don’t. We have no idea where Clint is. He only called once to tell us about the Accords and the airport, but we haven’t heard from him since.” She looked at his guilty face. “Do you know where he is?”

Tony gulped before nodding. “It’s not safe with Ross after you guys. I have a safehouse, but I also would like to offer the compound for you all to stay in. I would be there to protect you and the security is top of the line,” he said.

Laura looked down at her lap, conflicted, before looking up at him. “I think it would be better for us to stay at the safehouse.” Tony tried not to flinch at her words. “The things Clint told me…” Tony could only look at the distrust in her eyes before he was forced to keep his eyes on his shoes. 

“I understand,” Tony said softly. “A jet will be ready for you on the roof whenever you would like to leave.” Tony couldn’t force any more words out of his mouth. He turned around quickly and left, not even stopping when Laura called after him. 

_________________

Before Tony could return home, something was itching at him. He decided to take a jet back to the farm to investigate his suspicions. 

If Ross wanted information, why would he come in guns blazing instead of capturing them? And even so, the US Government couldn’t just hire a SWAT team to take down innocent civilians. What was going on here?

Tony landed and quickly searched the demolished house. He grabbed a few things that weren’t completely shot to bits like a few photographs and trinkets. But he frowned when he saw a body collapsed by the window under a bunch of wood and glass. 

Slowly approaching, he scanned the body with his glasses to confirm it was dead before uncovering it. But he quickly fell back when he saw the front of the dead man’s jacket. 

A HYDRA symbol stood out in bold red stitching on the front pocket. Tony threw up. 

And miles and miles away, an archer punched the TV in his grief when he saw the latest headline: The Barton family were dead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, what do you think so far?


End file.
